Apprentice Civil Engineering Review
at Arcadis
Degree Apprenticeship
Civil Engineering
Birmingham
Review Submitted: April 2026
Overall Rating
3.1 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
3.5/5
-
Overview of Role
5/5
-
Skills Development
2.6/5
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Structure and Support
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
4/5
Design engineering, highways and enabling infrastructure design mainly on AutoCAD
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
3/5
Occasional high skill design opportunities, however tasks can sometimes be mundane, and repetitive. I often have quiet periods with little to no project work. Though I enjoy some aspects of my role, it can be monotonous, with a cycle of the same, limited set of skills. The university course has many interesting modules, however content delivery is quite poor, unclear and at times difficult to maintain a healthy work/life balance.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
5/5
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
2/5
I often have little to no idea, what my next week will look like and causes insecurities, and makes it difficult to comfortably grow in my role. The university course is also managed quite poorly, with the course team often making last minute changes due to poor forecasting and planning
How much support do you receive from your employer?
3/5
I believe i get adequate support from my employer, but it is clear the is a heavy bias to prioritise my job, with sometimes little time allowance or assistance for the education and part of my apprenticeship, even though I am expected to to consistently perform excellently on that side
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
3/5
Lecturers provide very vague and often unclear responses to questions, some respond very late or not at all to emails, as I am on day release this poses some difficulties as I only have limited time to reach the course team in person.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
2/5
I feel as though the course is heavily biased to structures and geotechnics and rail, and have very little correlation to my role, with little software usage.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
3/5
There are monthly social events, and one yearly charity day. However I feel as though there could be more
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend Arcadis to a friend?
Yes
Why?
Overall, the company has many diverse roles and passionate professionals. The company is people first and makes and effort to serve the staff
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to Arcadis?
To be very clear with the sort of projects they would like to partake in. I t is important for them to speak up and press matters until a solution is found. It is very easy to become stagnant in your role, as the pipeline for growth is extremely slow and not often merit based
